Chapter – 20
Late afternoon at a quiet tavern.
Fioned’s Early Autumn, located in the harbor city square.
“This is quite embarrassing. If I’d known you were coming, I would’ve prepared better food.”
Mikhail left the apologetic Bitron behind and scanned the food on the table.
White mint soda, lamb steak, even fig pie….
The food filling the table could only be made using top-grade ingredients.
Mikhail looked up at Bitron and asked.
“Come to think of it, has the matter with the magic tool been settled?”
Bitron nodded readily.
“Yes. It was Kobi who broke the promise. He can no longer demand anything. Plus, with the losses he suffered back then and the disciplinary action from headquarters on top of it… he won’t be able to even dream of expanding his business for a while.”
“Good for him. Trying to sell a magic tool no one’s ever heard of or seen. The guy was out of his mind.”
Lloyd chimed in as if he’d been waiting, then gulped down his soup. An empty bowl appeared in the blink of an eye.
Denver, standing beside him, filled the bowl with soup and said.
“Anyway, take your time and eat plenty. A very fresh live neck fish will arrive soon, so I’ll stew that up for you too. There’s no tonic with that kind of flavor.”
Lloyd widened his eyes and asked Denver.
“Wait, live neck fish? Isn’t that a fish that easily costs over ten gold coins per piece?”
“Oh, you know it well! It’s so rare that when you can’t get it, you can’t buy it even if you pay extra. They catch a bit more these days, but… most are in pretty poor condition. Maybe that’s why there’s little on the market recently.”
Lloyd hummed, trailing off while wiping his mouth.
An empty soup plate appeared along with it.
Clatter.
…This was the fifth bowl.
Mikhail silently stared at Lloyd’s piled-up soup bowls, then turned his head toward Denver.
“Denver, when the live neck fish arrives, could you show it to me too? While it’s still alive.”
“Huh? While it’s alive? Not cooked?”
“Yes.”
Denver touched his chin as if puzzled, but soon nodded readily.
“Sure. I’ll bring it before we catch it. It’s not often you get to see a live neck fish in person.”
“Thank you.”
Mikhail bowed to Denver.
Creak.
The entrance opened. A woman carrying a large backpack and young siblings entered the hall.
The woman staggered with a haggard face like an office worker who’d lost documents right before a deadline.
The siblings chattered while surrounding the woman.
“Auntie, cheer up. Mom said eating something delicious makes you feel better.”
“The fig pie here is incredibly delicious, you know? Let’s eat pie and get our energy back to keep looking. Okay?”
“Yeah, I only have you guys. My little ones…”
The group that just entered sat around a window table.
While the woman buried her head and whimpered, the girl looked at Denver and raised her hand high.
“Over here! Two lemon sodas, one plate of assorted skewers, and one fig pie please!”
Denver glanced at the empty fruit basket, rubbed the back of his head, and approached the group.
“Oh dear, we’re out of fig pie right now…”
“Oh, but that’s not good…”
…Even the siblings drooped their eyebrows and looked tearful.
Mikhail withdrew his gaze from the group that had entered and looked at Lloyd. Lloyd, who’d been sipping white mint soda, felt the gaze and raised his head.
“What?”
“Can you help me out?”
“Huh? With what?”
“Just be next to me. And…”
Mikhail picked up the fig pie he hadn’t touched yet.
“Give this up.”
“……”
Lloyd looked a bit sad.
Mikhail pretended not to notice and stood up from his seat.
Scrape.
Where he approached was in front of the window table.
When Mikhail smiled brightly while holding the fig pie, the siblings jumped up with beaming faces.
“Wow! Fig pieā.”
“Wait.”
The woman stretched out her arm and grabbed the siblings, then slowly lifted her head.
“Who are you?”
Eyes clearly showing wariness.
Instead of answering, Mikhail glanced to the side. Lloyd was slowly approaching.
“Oh? It’s the brother who punished the bad person last time!”
“Right! The guy who made it so fire wouldn’t come out of his fingers!”
The siblings were the first to react.
At the siblings’ exclamation, Lloyd blinked in surprise, then waved his hand with a bright smile.
“Ah, it’s you guys? The bad guy hasn’t bothered you anymore, right?”
“Nope! We don’t see him in the alley anymore! It’s thanks to you!”
“What…”
While the woman blinked in confusion, Mikhail put down the fig pie and quickly sat in an empty seat.
The woman soon released her grip on the siblings.
“Well, you knew our little ones?”
Lloyd, who’d approached at some point, nodded nonchalantly and sat down next to Mikhail. The siblings pointed at the fig pie and asked.
“Can we eat the fig pie…?”
“Sure.”
“Wow, thank you!”
With Mikhail’s approval, the siblings each picked up a piece of fig pie and bit into it. …And Lloyd too.
The woman clicked her tongue softly but didn’t get sharp like before. Instead, she awkwardly gulped down the cold water in front of her.
Gulp, gulp.
Mikhail looked at the backpack beside the woman and asked.
“Ms. Elsi, Guild Alliance special-grade adventurer, could I see your items?”
“āCough!”
Elsi coughed as if she’d choked. Bewildered eyes reached Mikhail’s face.
“How did you know who I am?”
“Because it’s all written on your backpack.”
Mikhail extended his finger toward the backpack’s opening.
Where he pointed had an embroidered emblem. A winged star and balanced scales. And even unusual characters.
It was the emblem symbolizing a Guild Alliance special-grade adventurer.
After a moment of silence. Elsi rubbed the back of her head and clicked her tongue.
“…Well, I didn’t know a kid would recognize this.”
Mikhail smiled silently.
Clatter. Clatter.
Dishes clinked. The siblings watched the situation with sparkling cat-like eyes, then each picked up another piece of pie.
…And Lloyd too.
Soon Elsi cleared her throat a few times and smacked her chest.
“That aside! If you know who I am, then you should also know I can’t show you my items!”
Elsi’s voice rose higher.
“Spoils of war are an adventurer’s pride and dignity! Even more so for special-grade adventurers like us! If there’s no special reason, no matter how you ask, it’s no dice, so give up…!”
“āGood grief, stay still! You’re splashing water all over the floor!”
Denver groaned and approached carrying a bucket. Water splashed from the swaying bucket.
“Now, our young master asked to see this thing earlier, right? I’ll set it down for a moment so have a look…”
“Aaaaaah!”
Clunk!
Elsi jumped up with a face like she might faint. Elsi pointed at the fish in the bucket and stammered.
“Th-this… isn’t this a l-live neck fish? Mister, where’d you get this? Where’d you get such a lively one!”
“Huh? Well, I’ve got some friends…”
“Friends? Introduce me to them too! Please?”
When Elsi grabbed Denver’s shoulder and her eyes gleamed, Denver backed away as if flustered.
“N-no. But there are no more live neck fish. They said they caught this one by chance…”
“Really? Then sell this to me! Huh? I searched every single harbor and came up empty. With this, I’d be free from those picky desk jockeys! Please! I beg you!”
“Calm down. I’d like to grant your request, but I can’t.”
“Ah, you’re a haggler? Fine. I’ll add three more gold… no, four more gold, so sell it! Is that good?”
“No, that’s not it…”
“Five!”
“No! I said no!”
The bickering went back and forth a few times.
Denver lowered his tone and opened his mouth.
“Technically, this live neck fish belongs to the young master. So whether to help you or not is the young master’s decision.”
“Young master, you mean…”
“That’s me.”
A calm voice echoed from behind.
Elsi gaped and stared at Mikhail.
“N-no. I didn’t know you were the young master…”
“Shh. I understand your circumstances, so let me think about it.”
Mikhail crossed his arms with a deliberately contemplative face.
While maintaining a brief silence, he glanced at the live neck fish with a rather regretful look.
“Gulp.”
…With an appearance that didn’t seem like he’d give it up easily, another layer of anxiety covered Elsi’s face.
Mikhail narrowed the corners of his eyes and raised the corners of his mouth.
“If you’re that troubled, I’ll give it to you, but I don’t want monetary payment in return. …How about exchanging it for something meaningful among your items, Ms. Elsi?”
About four or five hours passed from then.
“Wow, that’s amazing. Amazing. I thought we were just going to eat, but you even got a necklace I’ve never seen before?”
Under the night sky where stars had risen.
Mikhail received the necklace Lloyd handed over while clicking his tongue and replied.
“But we couldn’t eat the live neck fish dish. It has its pros and cons.”
“That is a bit of a shame for me too, but still, a special-grade adventurer’s spoils of war aren’t something you can easily obtain. Like you said, they’re like medals in their own way.”
Lloyd shrugged his shoulders and rummaged through his pocket to pull out a small runestone.
“Anyway, thanks to you, I got something good too.”
“Why is that thanks to me? It’s payment for helping the kids.”
“She wouldn’t have given it if there hadn’t been a reason to take out her spoils of war. They’re not the type to easily open their pockets. …So keep it. I can’t live just receiving things.”
Well then.
Mikhail glanced at Lloyd and replied.
“Well, whatever.”
While hearing Lloyd answer with a light whistle, Mikhail looked at the necklace he’d received from Elsi.
The necklace gave off quite a solemn atmosphere.
[Agate Talisman Filled with Prayer][An ancient amulet to protect the owner’s safety and well-being. Earnest wishes sometimes create strange effects and change the flow of luck. The effect applies only once.]
‘Anyway, I safely obtained what I wanted.’
Mikhail smiled faintly. He put the necklace in his inner pocket and looked at the night sky ahead.
The dormitory curfew had long passed.
To get in without trouble, the best way was to take a back road where patrols or guards were lax and climb over the wall.
It was the moment Mikhail turned his steps toward the back road.
Clatter.
The tavern door ahead opened and three or four heavily drunk brutes suddenly appeared.
Mikhail flinched and quickly pulled Lloyd.
“Huh, why…!”
A gap between buildings where the streetlight didn’t reach.
Mikhail hid his body inside. He stared at Lloyd standing outside and put his hand to his mouth.
“Shh.”
“What, what’s suddenly…”
Lloyd narrowed his eyebrows in puzzlement.
“Damn it, my hand still throbs!”
A sharp voice burst from the roadside. A drunkard passing by grumbled with a voice burning with anger.
“That goddamn disqualified bastard! Just let me run into him again. I won’t let him off!”
